| Author | Message | ||
| Max |
Moderate alcohol intake in the elderly appears to be associated with significantly longer survival in men 60-74 years and in all elderly women. So concludes a research study titled MODERATE ALCOHOL INTAKE IS ASSOCIATED WITH SURVIVAL IN THE ELDERLY: THE DUBBO STUDY which was published in the MEDICAL JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIA (MJA 2000; 172: 121-124). Following are the research scientists who conducted the study: Leon A Simons, MD, FRACP, Associate Professor of Medicine; University of New South Wales Lipid Research Department, St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, NSW. Judith Simons, MACS, Analyst-Programmer. University of New South Wales Lipid Research Department, St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, NSW. John McCallum, DPhil, Professor and Dean. Faculty of Health, University of Western Sydney MacArthur, Sydney, NSW. Yechiel Friedlander, PhD, Associate Professor in Epidemiology. Department of Social Medicine, Hebrew University - Hadassah Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel. Michael Ortiz, PhD, Health Outcomes Manager. Pfizer Pty Ltd, Sydney, NSW. The researchers write the following: ěThe consumption of moderate amounts of alcohol, compared with abstention or with heavy alcohol intake, appears to be associated with reduced all-causes mortality in middle-aged subjects.1-3 This effect may be partially mediated through a reduced risk of coronary heart disease (CHD)4 and stroke.5 SOME STUDIES ATTRIBUTE THE PROTECTION TO A SPECIFIC EFFECT OF WINE;6,7 OTHER STUDIES ATTRIBUTE IT TO ANY TYPE OF ALCOHOL.î Following is a comment on the study by Dr. Timothy R Stockwell, Director, National Centre for Research into the Prevention of Drug Abuse, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Wales: ěThe evidence amassed to date on the link between moderate alcohol intake and reduced risk of dying of cardiovascular disease might be thought already sufficient to bracket sceptics of alcohol's protective effect with doubters of manned lunar missions and members of the Flat Earth Society. Published studies demonstrating this link can now be counted in the hundreds, and no fewer than six plausible underlying biological mechanisms have been identified.1 In this issue of the Journal yet another study reports this link: Simons and colleagues show moderate alcohol intake to be associated with increased survival in elderly people.2 Their study is an elegant example of the genre and drawn from a highly respected prospective study of risk factors for death and illness in the population of Dubbo, New South Wales.î Following is the study authorsí abstract: Abstract Objective: To examine the relationship between alcohol intake and survival in elderly people. Design and setting: A prospective study over 116 months of non-institutionalised subjects living in Dubbo, a rural town (population, 34 000) in New South Wales. Participants: 1235 men and 1570 women aged 60 years and over who were first examined in 1988-89. Main outcome measures: All-causes mortality; gross cost of alcohol per life-year gained. Results: Death occurred in 450 men and 392 women. Intake of alcohol was generally moderate (ie, less than 14 drinks/week). Any intake of alcohol was associated with reduced mortality in men up to 75 years and in women over 64 years. In a proportional hazards model, the hazard ratio for mortality in men taking any alcohol was 0.63 (95% CI, 0.47-0.84) and in women was 0.75 (95% CI, 0.60-0.94). Cardiovascular deaths in men were reduced from 20/100 (95% CI, 14-26) to 11/100 (95% CI, 9-13) and in women from 16/100 (95% CI, 13-19) to 8/100 (95% CI, 6-10). The reduction in mortality occurred in men and women taking only 1-7 drinks/week -- hazard ratios, 0.68 (95% CI, 0.49-0.94) and 0.78 (95% CI, 0.61-0.99), respectively, with a similar protective effect from intake of beer or other forms of alcohol. After almost 10 years' follow-up, men taking any alcohol lived on average 7.6 months longer, and women on average 2.7 months longer, compared with non-drinkers. The gross cost for alcohol per life-year gained if consuming 1-7 drinks/week was $5700 in men, and $19 000 in women. Conclusion: Moderate alcohol intake in the elderly appears to be associated with significantly longer survival in men 60-74 years and in all elderly women. | ||
| Max |
I wish to call your attention to the above-quoted statement by Dr. Timothy R Stockwell, Director, National Centre for Research into the Prevention of Drug Abuse, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Wales: ěThe evidence amassed to date on the link between MODERATE ALCOHOL INTAKE and REDUCED RISK OF DYING of cardiovascular [heart and blood vessel]disease might be thought already sufficient to bracket sceptics of alcohol's protective effect with doubters of manned lunar missions and members of the Flat Earth Society. Published studies demonstrating this link can now be counted in the HUNDREDS, and no fewer than six plausible underlying biological mechanisms have been identified. *************************** Comment by Max: It's time for all of us -- SDAs AND former SDAs -- to take our heads out of the SDA traditional sand and to simply admit the truth: Moderate drinking IS healthful and IS protective against the biggest killer by far in America: heart and blood vessel diseases. This evidence doesn't mean ANYONE should start moderate drinking. But it IS convincing scientific evidence and it deserves to be respected as such. Max of the Cross |
